Trump says he is ‘ready and willing’ to debate Biden after president proposes June and September face-offs – live

Good morning, US politics blog readers. A big question hanging over the presidential campaign is whether Donald Trump and Joe Biden would debate before the 5 November election. This morning, we appear to have reached an answer: the president’s re-election campaign proposed two debates, one in late June, and the other in September. Not long after, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times”. In a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Biden’s campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon proposed that the first debate take place after the president returns from a summit of G7 leaders, and after the likely conclusion of Trump’s criminal trial in New York City. The second debate would be timed for the period before early voting starts but after campaigning begins in earnest, while a debate of vice-presidential candidates could be held in late July. And while the Commission on Presidential Debates is the traditional host of face-offs between candidates, O’Malley Dillon informed them that Biden would not participate in their proposed events, citing issues with their schedule and moderation.